


Balcony Picnic

by moomoo1102



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M, Just some chill time between besties, whats the harm?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomoo1102/pseuds/moomoo1102
Summary: Bow surprises Glimmer with a late night picnic after a long day.
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Balcony Picnic

**Author's Note:**

> hi ! this is my first work and realistically probably my last unless it gets some steam! i’m excited to share it with you guys tho :)

Glimmer had always wondered if having the moonstone atop the palace was what made the moonlight so strong; as long as she could remember she’d stayed up watching the reflections of the beams dance on the ceiling, like waves of sparkling stardust.

At least that was what her dad had called it when he pointed it out to her the first time, and she’d taken it to heart. Stardust. She’d never known stars. But if starlight was anything like the moon...

Adora’s snores softly filled the room as the moonlight filtered in through the window and shimmered off of the waterfall. 

It might’ve been a little bit darker in Adora’s room than she’d intended. Maybe that, or just the emptiness of the room, or maybe even just the unfamiliarity of it was what was keeping Adora up at night. It was hard for her to imagine ever feeling out of place in the palace. In fact, it was so familiar to her own room, it was almost stifling. She’d do anything to leave for even a few days.

Speaking of leaving, she glanced over at Adora, who in turn tightened her cobra grip around Glimmer’s waist. Having done this a few times prior she knew now that this was probably just how Adora had always slept-- someone tucked in her elbow as she snored away. She wiggled a bit to test the waters, and when Adora didn’t stir she heaved a miniature sigh of relief and readied herself to leave.

Glimmer screwed her eyes shut and felt the familiar weightlessness of teleportation until her feet hit solid ground just a few feet away from the bed. She made for the door-- quietly, God forbid Adora hear her shuffling and wake up-- and made one last assurance that she was sleeping soundly before pulling the door fully shut and muffling the clicking noise as best as she could. 

She smiled, a job well done, before pressing her forehead against the cool wood of the door for just a moment to savor the peace. And wondered if her mother had felt this accomplished when putting  _ her _ to bed. It almost made her reconsider all the hell she gave her mom now…

Almost.

“Glimmer!”

She practically leapt through the ceiling as the voice broke through the serene quiet and her stomach dropped, fingers melting off into light as she stamped down her kneejerk reaction to teleport away. 

But her panic was quickly ceased by a familiar little chuckle. “Jeez, Glimmer, take it easy.”

“Bow!” She turned to glare at him, her heartbeat pounding in her ear. “You scared me.”

Bow smiled, and held his arms out in a ‘well, here I am,’ gesture, biting back another laugh at her expense. “Clearly. Relax.” He looked over to the door, and then back to her with a little wince. “I’m guessing Adora had another nightmare?” 

As much as she wanted to hold her ground and smack him around a little more for laughing at her, his smile had always calmed her. That was why they were friends, she thought. He leveled her. And she emboldened him. 

“Yeah,” she said, starting to walk with him and looping her elbow into his. “She wakes up screaming sometimes. Or crying. Sometimes she kicks the sheets off. I think it’s because..” She cleared her throat as they turned the corner to walk to her room. “Well, I don’t know what the Horde did to her. But she’s never had to sleep alone and I think it’s messing with her. It’s a big room, you know? And dark I guess. Something about the shadows gets to her.”

“Well… I’m sure I could rig some nightlights in there. Easily.” The duo walked in perfect pace with each other. After all, they’d had years of practice, and Bow’s warm skin was a presence she’d grown used to. The only real difference was once he’d hit his growth spurt he’d gotten stronger, more muscular, and now she could lean on him a little more without hindering their speed.

“Honestly? If it happens again I’m just going to move her into my room. I don’t care what my mom thinks.” And with that she cocked her head. “Wait a minute. Why are you here? You’re definitely not supposed to be in here.” She pulled him in and against the wall, head swiveling for guards. “If we get caught she’ll have our  _ throats,  _ Bow, and I really don’t want--”

“Ow, ow, ow.” He pried her grip off of his arm, but let her hand stay in his. “I know, I know.”

She closed her eyes again, this time adjusting her powers for tugging Bow along with her, and when she opened them it was because her feet were hitting the floor of her bedroom. She noticed the balcony doors immediately, flung open and a very distinct rope arrow combo hanging off the railing. “Did you climb up my balcony?”

He brushed residue glitter off of his forearms. “You really need to start warning me when you do that. And  _ yes _ , I climbed up your balcony.” He steadied himself for a minute. “Do you get used to that falling feeling?”

“Bow, you’re supposed to be the responsible one. Honestly, I  _ never _ would have guessed that you would so flagrantly break my mother’s rules when I have a hard time convincing you to jailbreak me in the middle of the day.Where was this energy when I wanted to sneak into the forest last week?” She threw her hands up in agitation, pacing a rut into her floor. “You should really-- what are you doing?”

He was, as well as blatantly ignoring her scolding, slipping a bag she hadn’t even noticed he’d had off of his shoulder and pulling a folded blanket out of it as he stepped out onto her balcony. He shook it out, and smiled at her over his shoulder. 

“Bow, what  _ are  _ you doing?”

He pulled a thermos out of the bag and sat down on the blanket. “Forcing you to relax with me for a little bit.” He poured whatever he’d brought into a little tin cup and held it out to her. “Come watch the sky with me. I know you need this.”

“The only thing I  _ need  _ is for you to scoot before my mom finds out you’re here.” 

But she swayed forward anyway and dropped to her knees at his side, taking the warm cup in her hands and smelling the butterscotch wafting off it. He pulled his guitar off of his back and started plucking it softly as she lifted the cup to her lips and sipped it tentatively. It was hot, particularly against the cool air outside. But she didn’t mind. It certainly took the chill off.

She looked up at the, albeit empty, sky and studied the colors. She’d always thought it looked like a painting, the purples and blues mixing and blotting together and the occasional cloud popping up to break up the scene and add contrast, melting off at the edges to mix in with the void of space staring down at her. And If that got boring she could always look out at the woods and watch the leaves rustle mesmerizingly with the wind. 

But for the moment she was content to close her eyes and listen to the gentle, melodic plucking as the notes rung out into the night. The wind tousled her hair as she leaned back onto Bow’s shoulder. 

“Sleepy?”

“A little.”   
“Well, at ease, General Glimmer!” he ordered, half-jokingly, and started humming along to his music.

“Ugh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t remind me of my responsibilities. You sound like  _ her _ .” The word rolled off of her tongue icily and was a near-instant indicator of who she was referring to.

“Your mom wants the best for you,” he chimed, voice mixing between speaking and singing with ease, almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. “She does. She’s just worried about you.”

She harrumphed and leaned into him further. “What song is this?”

“Oh. Perfuma taught it to me.” He cleared his throat. “It’s just an old folksong.”

“It’s pretty.” She downed the rest of her cup. “She’s a nice girl.”

“She’s sweet.” His voice was so calming, so reassuring. She found herself wanting to just blurt out whatever it was that was driving her so crazy at the moment. But that was impossible to sum up succinctly.

She watched the moon for a moment. Just a moment, maybe to steady herself. That falling feeling she’d grown so used to was back, but it felt nauseating outside of teleportation.

“Bow?”

“Yeah?”

“I can do this, right? Be a general?”

“Glimmer.” He set his guitar down and hooked an arm around her (a notably buff arm, not that she cared enough to notice), angling himself to look at her.

In the dimly lit night, her breath hitched when she saw the way his eyes were catching the moonlight; a strikingly warm glint against the sea of darkness around them. In fact, everything about him was striking in the light; the silhouette of his profile, the dips of his collarbones, those muscles he’d gained seemingly out of left field. It had been a long time since she’d ever actually stopped to take a second look at him, and now that she did, she realized how much he’d grown, really. Scrawny little Bow was no longer scrawny; in fact, he looked pretty good.

“You’ve been helping people pretty much ever since I’ve known you. I don’t think there’s anything that could stand in the way of you when you’re trying to save someone. You’re so courageous. There’s no way anybody could  _ stop _ you from doing this.”

She heard the words, she really did. And processed them. But in the moment, all she could do was stare hopelessly into his eyes as the words washed over her.

“Glim?” he called, shaking her back to reality as her cheeks warmed and she tucked her face into the crook of her elbow to hide it. “You good?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. She had to laugh. “That was so nice.” Her chest was fluttery, and she felt vaguely like she was doing something wrong, like she was about to mess something up. She had to get a handle on these feelings. His arm, hanging over her so easily before, now felt like shocks of lightning skipping on her skin. 

“It’s just the truth,” he said as if he was reminding her. “And don’t you forget it.”

It was unlikely she’d forget this anytime soon. “Jeez, jeez, okay.” She was conflicted between wanting to linger in his grasp for just a few more minutes; her Bow, her rock, her best friend-- and kicking him out before she couldn’t tear her eyes from his midriff. 

“You should go. Your dads probably miss you. And my mom..”

“Yeah, yeah.” He swept things back into his bag hurriedly and stood up, offering her a hand and pulling her up too. “We should do this again though. Just say the word whenever Queen Angella is driving you nuts, or you’re worried about your new title, or whatever. I’ll always have time for you.”

“I know,” she said, thankful for the cover of night to hide her flustered face. “I appreciate you. You’re my best friend.”

And with that, he gathered her into a hug, and she melted into his touch. She took the opportunity to teleport him down to the palace yard, and then herself back up to the balcony to give him a final wave. 

He gave her a very silly salute before taking off into the forest, and she sunk to the floor of her balcony to quell her racing heartbeat and fluttering stomach.

And that was that. Somewhere deep in her mind, under layers of exhaustion and worry and relief and excitement, a part of her knew that things had just changed inexplicably, and they would never be the same.


End file.
